portare

Portare is a Latin verb of the first conjugation meaning "to carry" or "to bear," and by extension "to bring." It is one of the most common verbs in classical Latin and appears in a wide range of genres, from narrative to legal and rhetorical texts. The principal parts are porto, portare, portavi, portatum, from which all the other forms are derived.

As a regular first-conjugation verb, portare forms its tenses with standard endings. In the present active indicative the forms are porto, portas, portat, portamus, portatis, portant; the imperfect is portabam, portabas, portabat, portabamus, portabatis, portabant; the future is portabo, portabis, portabit, portabimus, portabitis, portabunt. The perfect active (portavi, portavisti, portavit, portavimus, portavistis, portaverunt) is followed by the pluperfect (portaveram, portaveras, portaverat, portaveramus, portaveratis, portaverant). The passive voice yields forms such as portor, portaris, portatur, portamur, portamini, portantur, with corresponding tenses (portabar, portabaris, etc.; portabor, portaberis, etc.). The present and past subjunctive forms and the imperative (porta, portate) complete the standard paradigm.

Usage notes include the direct object in the accusative for the thing carried and, depending on meaning, a dative or prepositional phrase to indicate the recipient, destination, or beneficiary. In modern Romance languages the root survives in Italian portare, Spanish portar, and French porter. Etymologically, portare derives from Latin portāre and is related to English derivatives such as portable, transport, and port.